Dr. Warren Naamara
Chair Person University Council & Government Representative.
Dr. Warren Naamara is the Chairperson of MUST’s 7th Council which was inaugurated in July 2019. The University Council is the supreme organ of the University, responsible for the overall administration. Council ensures due implementation of the objectives and functions of the University is established in accordance with the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act, 2001
Dr. Warren Naamara has previously served as the UNAIDS Country Director for Tanzania. A Ugandan Public Health Physician and Infectious Diseases Epidemiologist with well over 25 years experience working on HIV/AIDS prevention in East, Southern, Central and West Africa. He graduated from Makerere University Medical School, Uganda, started his career as a medical Officer in rural hospitals in Uganda in 1980; later moved to do research on STDs and HIV in the Kenya Medical Research institute (KEMRI) and then post Graduate at the Nairobi University Medical School.
In 1987 he moved back to Uganda as the National AIDS Control programme epidemiologist setting up all the epidemiological networks for surveillance and population surveys. Later on he became the Director of the Uganda National AIDS Control Programme in Uganda, a position in which he was the expert adviser to President Museveni on issues of HIV/AIDS prevention. In 1994 he joined FHI under the AIDSCAP Programme as the Resident Adviser in Zimbabwe on HIV/AIDS programmes.
After the war and genocide, he moved to Rwanda to work as the World Bank long Term Management expert adviser for restructuring and re-organizing the health services destroyed during the war including redevelopment of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Population management Programmes before joining UNAIDS in the same Country for a brief period in 2008. Dr. Naamara moved to Kenya as UNAIDS Country coordinator in Kenya for next 5 years after which he was transferred to Ghana for another 5 years. Subsequently he was reassigned to Nigeria in the same position and representing UNAIDS at the ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja on a promotion to a Director level in UNAIDS for four years, before being assigned to Ethiopia in the same position.
Dr. Warren Naamara graduated from Makerere University Medical School in Uganda and later went to Nairobi University for infectious diseases training and a Master in Public Health. He has several publications in a number of peer reviewed journals and holds a number of management and other post graduate qualifications from the University of Toronto, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the University of California at San Francisco in the Center for Aids Prevention studies (CAPS) and University of Leicester UK.
Esq. Sarah Nyachwo Mwaka
Vice Chairperson Council
Chairperson Student Welfare and Disciplinary Committee
Dr. Stephens Kisaka.
Government Representative
Dr. Stevens Kisaka is an educationist, decision scientist and consultant epidemiologist. He has served in higher education institutions, government departments, institutional capacity building programs and a multitude of engagements in various sub-Saharan Africa and Asian countries. He has vast experience in strategic curriculum development; policy formulation; institutional programing; as well as implementation of strategic public health responses national and international levels. Additionally, he has authored and co-authored a number articles in peer-reviewed journals in science; and higher education management and methodologies (orcid.org/0000-0001-7848-316X). Further, he has been involved in several initiatives that seek to build sustainable human and non-human capacities in regional Universities in line with the East African Community’s development agenda.
Dr. Kisaka is the Executive Director of Global Health Analytics Group (GHAG), a firm specializing in deploying quantitative techniques to inform decision-making at the institutional, population and individual levels. He is a Research Fellow at the University of Nairobi Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (UNITID) in Kenya. He is also a faculty at Makerere University (Uganda).
Clare Nduuhura (Mrs.)
Government Representative
Dr. Henry Mwebesa.
Government Representative
Mr. Hannington Ashaba .
Chairperson Audit and Risk Committee
Government Representative
Eng. Kagoro Assiimwe.
Chairperson Estates and Works Committee
Mr. Moses Ogal Opio.
Chairperson Finance Planning and Development Committee
Prof. Celestino Obua
Vice Chancellor
The Vice Chancellor, of Mbarara University of Science and Technology and a Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics with a PhD in Pharmacology and a Fellow of the Uganda National Academy of Sciences (FUNAS). I am the MURTI Program Director, (D43TW010128 PI: Obua and its MADRI Supplement D43TW010128-04S1 PI: Obua on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias [AD/ADRD]) a program that has trained to date three cohorts of junior faculty at MUST in conducting research in mental health, CVD, neurology, HIV/AIDs and related morbidities (total of 21 junior faculty), and AD/ADRD research (12 fellows). I am also the PI of the “Health-professional Education Partnership Initiative – Transforming Ugandan Institutions Training Against HIV/AIDS” (HEPI-TUITAH) R25TW011210 PI: Obua and its supplement “Sexual Harassment Prevention and Response Training (SHarPResT)” R25TW011210-04S1 both of which are currently running focused on training undergraduate students on prevention, care and research towards supplementing the national efforts in the fight against HIV, and promotion of sexual harassment in the research environment respectively.
Prof. Charles Tushaboomwe Kazooba
Deputy Vice Chancellor F&A
Associate Professor Charles Tushabomwe-Kazooba (CTK) is the Pioneer University Bursar (UB), MUST from December 1990 to June 2000, outsourced from Makerere University, Kampala. He spearheaded the establishment of the Finance Department (FD) and the Internal Audit Department (IAD) of MUST. This involved the drafting of the initial accounting policies and procedures, internal audit manual, tender committee regulation, Chart of accounts, instituting best management procedures for financial management and control.
Prof. Nixon Kamukama
Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs
Professor Nixon Kamukama PhD is the Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) since 2016. Nixon is a visiting Professor of Ankole Western University- Kabwohe Sheema. Nixon is the Board member of Uganda Electricity Generation Company Ltd (UEGCL) and chairs both Finance and Audit committee. He is also a board member of the Forensic and Computing Institute. Nixon also chairs the Board of MUST Centre of Innovation and Technology Transfer (CITT).
Hon. Dr. Nicholas Thadeus Kamara:
MUST Convocation Representative
He is a trained Physician with over 20 years’ experience. He worked at Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Kabale Hospital, Kampala International University , Kabwohe Clinical Research Center and Mbabane Government Hospital in Swaziland.
Currently Chairman of MUST Convocation. He is the Honorable Member of Parliament for Kabale Municipality and the Chief Executive Officer of Karoli Lwanga Hospital, Nyakibale Rukungiri District.
He studied at Kigezi College Butobere, Namilyango College and Mbarara University of Science and Technology. He holds a Bachelors of Medicine and Surgery (MUST), Masters in Internal Medicine (MUST), Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (London) and Diploma in Diabetes (Cardiff). Currently perusing Masters in Public Health (VUU).
Part of his research in Pre-exposure prophylaxis in HIV, Diabetes and Respiratory Medicine is published.
Dr. Joseph Ngonzi.
Senate Representative
Senior lecturer and Consultant Obstetrician/Gynecologist at Mbarara University of Science and Technology
Joseph Ngonzi is the dean Faculty of Medicine. Works at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mbarara University of Science & Technology (MUST). Joseph does research in Gynecology, Public Health and Oncology. current project is ‘Postpartum sepsis/infection ‘.
Eng. Patrick Mujunansi
Senior Administrators’ Forum Representative
He is a trained Engineer with over 25 years. Worked as Professional Support Officer (PSO) Uganda Institute of Professional Engineers 2013-2014
UIPE rep. Member of the Governing Council of Uganda Technical College-Bushenyi 2013-2019
Formerly District Engineer- Kiruhura DLG 2005-2010
Formerly Inspector of Roads – Mbarara District – 1995-2005. Currently he is the University Engineer at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST)
Eng: Patrick holds: REng; Civ Eng; PEng; MUIPE, ERB/700 BSc. Civ. Engineering; (MUK 2006); PGD-Project. Planning &Management (UMI 2010); ND Civ Eng & Building (UPK); Cert of Proficiency in English &Complementary Studies (Kyambogo)
Assoc. Prof. Grace Kagoro Rugunda, PhD
Senate Representative
Grace Kagoro Rugunda (PhD) is a professor of Resources’ Ecology at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), Uganda. She received her PhD from the same University and undertook a Post fellowship from Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife research in conjunction with the University of Hamburg, Germany, in which she collaborated with colleagues at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and wildlife research on a research project entitled Phytochemical and antimicrobial constituents of ethnobotanical plants eaten by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in Kalinzu forest. She eventually earned her spot in the teaching and research supervision at the Department of Biology. She specializes in teaching invertebrate zoology, animal behaviour and natural resources ecology, management and conservation. She has also trained in QGIS and Cybertracker methods of data collection. Her fifteen-year career as a professor has enabled building up of other collaborations such as Vrije Universiteit Brussel on research projects Digital citizen-science for community-based resilient environmental management and improved mechanisms for climate change adaptation for sustainable food production for small scale farmers. Other universities collaborated with include Liebig University, Giessen for fresh water ecology with special emphasis on fresh water molluscs, University of Kassel on a research project of reducing postharvest losses and adding value in East African fruits and vegetables and the Royal Museum for central Africa on a project entitled “Action Towards Reducing Aquatic snail-borne Parasitic diseases and “Contribution to reducing the incidence of natural hazards and associated risks in the Albertine Rift, in DRC, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. In other different capacities, she serves such a member of the Advisory committee of the National Agricultural Research organization and the Regional Network for Conservation Educators of the Albertine Rift in Uganda. She has published relevant manuscripts on Natural resources’ ecology, climate change, Biodiversity management and conservation, fresh water ecology, medicinal plant antimicrobial activity, Parasite ecology of tropical neglected diseases’ hosts, Agri-ecology and postharvest handling.
Assoc. Prof. Robert Bitariho
Academic Staff Representative
He is currently the director of the Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation, a research Institute of Mbarara University of Science and Technology based in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. For the past 18 years, Robert has been carrying out research and training of post graduate students and other researchers majorly in environment sciences, natural resource management and wildlife conservation. He holds a PhD degree in Natural Resource Management. Robert is an accomplished researcher who has published in several international and high impact journals such as Science, Nature, Biotropica, Biological Conservation and others. His current google scholar citation index stands at 1,029 citations (h-index = 13, i10-index = 15). Robert is a recipient of the 2020 National Wildlife Research individual recognition Award by the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities. He was recently awarded a recognition award certificate by the Biotropica journal for the Top Cited Research Article for the period 2018-2019. He is a sports enthusiastic and likes to watch football, athletics and martial arts. During his University days, he participated in several athletics and Taekwondo competitions representing Makerere University.
Dr. Pius Ariho
Academic Staff Representative
Mr. Charles Kakuru
N U E I U Representative
His Worship Robert Mugabe Kakyebezi
Mbarara City Representative
Mr. Melchoir K. Byaruhanga
University Secretary/ Secretary to Council
Stella Dusabe Byarugaba
PWD Representative
H.E The Guild President
Jastus Mugenyi Kizito
Students’ Representative
